Project Appleseed

Do you know who "Joyce Junior" (also known as Joice Jun'r, Joyce Jun'r, Joyce Jr. et cetera missspellings) was? What a Pope's day was? Guy Fawkes? A man known very well to his enemies and friends alike simply by his initials of "P.R", what were his favorite jobs to do? When the American Revolution -REALLY- started? How many midnight riders were there on the evening of April 18th, 1775? The common engraving of the Boston Massacre, is it accurate? How much abuse did the British really take prior to the morning of April 19th, 1775? Long Room Club? Green Dragon? Liberty Poles? Liberty Tree? SoL?

Some of these details I can go over in this book, by Esther Forbes (no ISBN). Dated 1947.

Let's start with the Pope's day. The book covers this stuff in good detail, a good 500 pages of detail, but I'll summarize things to the best I can.

                                                                                                                                                   
Pope's Day, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, was part cultural and part religious festival on every November 5th in the American Colonies and had been celebrated for some time. "In 1821 a man of seventy wrote for the Boston Advertiser his memories of these carriages.

"A large stage was erected on wheels. On this stage was placed a figure in a chair called the Pope--behind him a female figure in an attitude of dancing, whom they called Nancy Dawson--behind her Admiral Byng hanging from the gallows [in 1757 Byng had been court-marshalled and shot in England for refusing to fight] and behind him the Devil. [The pope was] dressed in gorgeous attire with a large white wig on, over which was an enormous gold-laced hat. The wigs procured for this purpose had often adorned the pulbpits of churches. Before his holiiness was a table on which was a large book, playing cards scattered over it. In the extreme rear was a gigantic figure to represent the Devil: a hideous form with a pitchfork in his hand and covered with targ and feathers. On the stage was music and something to drink--also boys, clad in frocks and trousers well covered with tar and feathers who danced about the pope, played with the cards and frequently climbed up and kissed the devil. These were called the devils imps.

In most towns the festival was fairly harmless, the carriage was carted around down around the town and consumed in a great bonfire at the conclusion in which the carriage, heads of the effigies, stolen washtubs, tar barrels and fences." The carriage was usually constructed a few days before by the big boys (the little boys would perhaps play parts of the event before hand, just like kids playing cowboy or cops/robbers today) and was led through the town by a captain, two lieutenants and a purser to collect money and food (although they were sometimes fed on the spot). Throngs of men and boys followed the carriage around town with playing musical instruments. Generally it was relatively harmless.

But in Boston the celebration was much more violent. Either due to custom or habit, or simply such a large town with a concentrated population [Arc note: Boston at the time was heavily populated and filthy, when smallpox would be discovered mass panic would ensue], it fell into having both a North End and a South End, each with their own seperate "celebration" with two popes, two pope's carriages, and two escorting mobs. When those two rivals met, "numbering 'thousands' met, a ferocious battle was fought for the possession of the other side's pope and devils. People were killed and maimed for life. Paving stones, bricks, cudgels, were fair weapons, and great damage was done, both to human flesh and property. All night long through Boston's unlighted, cobbled streets, nothing was heard but ' a confused medley of the rattling of the Carriages, the noise of the Popes Drums, and the infernal yelling of those who are fighting for the possession of the Devil.'...There was no power in Boston that could control them."

For a whole day the town was taken under in this customized mob violence, which by custom if not by law had legalized. The General Court had tried to stop the mobs but there were thousands in Boston and only 8 to 12 constables in Boston. "Boston thought to cut down the carnage by saying the celebrating must be done by daylight, but the result was that the rival popes carriages left their hiding place in the morning and had that many more hours for hell-raising." The last unhindered Pope's Day was that of November 5th, 1764. That day, Mr. Mackintosh, cobbler by profession, a boastful bully and brutal man was captain of the South End. Captain Swift was the North End captain, and "Early in the morning of the fifth of November, '64, the North End Pope was trundled out on its gigantic carriage, with its usual supporitng train of popes' drums, tin horns, conch shells, and milling mob, and 'Capt.' Swift in command. The bully boys were all set to find out the South-Enders and give them the beating of their lives."

Careful mothers were well apt to keep small fry locked away in safety from such danger, but a child named Brown tripped under a carriage wheel and was instantly killed. Drinking had not begun in ernest yet, and the sight of the killing shocked the "more aware" persons and the government officials were ordered to put an end to the mayhem. The North End did not resist too long but the South End was too much to handle, the battle was restarted up near Dock Square and eventually the South End won. Peaceably they burned all the matter outside the town near the gallows and the day was done.
                                                                                                                                                   

Next time: "Joyce Jr."

Let's try to keep the the chatter to a minimum, folks.

Note on the previous: Pope's Day celebrations, of which the last unrestricted "old fashioned" was in 1764, it eventually was transformed many times over by the time the French joined in, and then was finally dropped.

Today: Joyce Junior, Joice Junior, Joyce Jun'r, Josie Jr, Joyce Jr. etc.
                                                                                                                                                   

During Charles the First's reign in England, he was eventually taken from the throne and executed for high treason against Parliament, just around 1649. It was according to folk mind that Cornet Joyce that reportedly captured the king and delievered him to the army. And that Joyce stood beside the block in masked attire when the execution was conducted. And that possibly enough, he might have executed the king himself.

For purposes of Boston, this figure would serve two purposes: for Pope's Day and political purposes. "A man used to ride an ass with immense jack boots and his face covered with a horrible mask..." His name  at the time was apparently George, but Boston dropped his first name, added Joyce, and tacked on Junior and brought him unto herself. The only figure to adorn the Pope's Day celebration or riot, as you may choose, was that of Joyce Junior who was regarded as a hero, "a symbol of popular revolt against the government."

This quaint figure's job was to "collect" or assemble the men and boys to ready up for the Pope's day celebration. Another that was noted later, a general figure of overall justice, as I figure it. Let's start with the one, then the other.

Here's what happened: An irritable man called John Malcolm (Johnny in town) known for irrating the poorer folk had been in town a short while after a short stint up in the Carolinas, then Maine, then now into Boston. A fierce Loyalist, and other unwise behaviors got him "courtesy" tar and featherings up in the previous states. And now was his turn again for a Boston version; he had been accused of knocking over a sled of which a child had been collecting chips for fire starting. George Robert Twelvetrees Hewes (a humble good natured poor man) came to his aid, and according to the doctor afterwards, would have killed any other man with the blow that was struck to him. Joseph Warren urged him to get a warrant for his arrest, but by the time he got it ready to deliver a mob had formed outside Johnny's house. Armed and ready to defend himself, "split down the Yankees by the dozen and recieve twenty shillings sterling a head", of which the people reminded him that he'd been tar-and-feathered earlier. "You say I was tar and feathered, and that it was not done in a proper manner, damn you, let me see the man that dares do it better."

And so, after a bit, they accepted his offer, Boston style. Entering his house and disarming hi, he was transferred to a waiting cart down below, tar and feathered, and carted all over town, from King Street, the Liberty Tree, out to the gallows on the Neck (south end of town) where he was forced to drink the health (not sure what that is) of all eleven members of the royal family tea, and nearly burst. Back again to the Liberty Tree, King Street and then to Copp's Hill, keep in mind every stopping point he was flogged. "After four hours of this torture, half frozen and seemingly half dead, he 'was rolled out of the cart like a log.' His skin came off with pieces of the tar and feathers still sticking to it." Both Whigs and the Loyalists (Tories) were not pleased with this behavior and tried to put an end to it, even more than courage than the 12 constables, with ordinary people horrified at this excess violence.

Joyce Junior posted a message around the conspicuous buildings around town, as even he himself as a mob organizer in part felt badly about this:

"Brethren and Fellow Citizens
This is to Certify, That the modern Punishment Lately
Inflicted on the ignoble John Malcolm was not done
by our Order. We reserve that Method for Bringing Villains
Of greater Consequence to a Sense of Guilt and Infamy.
Joyce Jun'r
Chairman of the Committee of Tarring and
Feathering.
=> If any Person be so hardy as to tear this down, they may expect my severest Resentment
J. jun'r"

After Boston was reclaimed from the British, there was much trepidation around about possible activities of the Torries (Loyalists) and at this time Joyce Junior went slightly out of his usual mob relations and posted a long message about Tory activity in town and threats towards them to cease "wicked and evil Practices". He took it upon himself to act as the police force for the town for the time being, carrying out the laws of the General Court. Most of the known Torries were clamped down on in the spring of of 1777, particulary because the British, in traditional military history around the world likewise, tended to want to push out in spring after the long winter freeze out, which lead to an expected Tory assisted British re-capture of the town.

Of the Tories tried and convicted, even Dr. Benjamin Church, it was very liberal and loose compared to times of today. Either they were carted out of town (with an escorting mob) and warned not to return upon penalty of death some still returned and resumed their practices (like Doctor Byles, who was judged to be dangerous, ordered a guard to be posted at his house, which was relinquished after awhile). .
                                                                                                                                                   

Next time: how about the SoL, or Sons of Liberty and the Long Room Club? Sure.

Okie now: SoL and the Long Room Club.

Two activist gatherings that your textbooks would NEVER have mentioned. May as well add the Green Dragon as well.

                                                                                                                                                   
Behind the old State House was Dassett Alley, not very far from the Dock Square and the town Dock.

Here are a couple of maps of Boston back in the day.

Boston and surrounding area
Boston in 1722, very detailed
Boston in 1777
Warning: large file sizes: the first one is 7.6MB in size, second is 5.2MB, third 3.9MB.

The Boston Gazette was the largest paper run in New England, run by the Edes and Gill lot, and that is where they were set up, not very far from Revere's house. A timid setup with only a small hand press and a "few founts of type" on the first floor. Paul Revere engraved plates for this office from time to time, and advertised in this paper every couple of years or so. But secluded from view up above the first floor with a vail of privacy not available in elsewhere, highly treasonous material is said to have occurred there. No records were known have been collected, only a partial memberlist is known, (Sam Adams, James Otis, Thomas Hutchinson, Paul Revere, John Hancock, John Adams may have been, Benjamin Church, Joseph Warren, and a few others) and what they conducted there is not known. Probably for good reason too. And when James Otis was not strangling the meeting with fits of rage and incoherent behavior, things could probably get moving, with the type ready the next floor down ready to press their matters around into paper.

Although not as secluded as the as the Long Room Club, the Green Dragon has to be among the best. This brick tavern was constucted up Union Street (across from Dock Square) which upon the face of the building was hung a copper dragon on a iron "branch". With time it turned green, giving the name of the place. Inside this tavern was a secluded back door which lead to a small private room, of which many revolutionary acts (like the Tea Party) were carried out in discussion. Apparently if you wanted good Revolutionary connections or discussion you belonged there -- Paul Revere was a known member.

Taverns were an important part of the time. If a man was not at work and not at his house, there was reasonable chance he was at the tavern. A tavern could be a meeting point, social gathering (just like a "bar" today), or a place for sundry activities. In those times, (militia groups would meet at a number of places, a Liberty Pole, town Court, Church, but usually the tavern) the "Salutation", run by William Campbell at the time, with the building old and beaten (typical) with over 100 years in service, was rammed up at the corner of Salutation St and Ship St. Your average fellow drinking in a warm crowded place was not admitted to it, instead it was favored by the Whig Party for the purposes of the North Caucus, somewhere inside likely a private room for discussion. And there was also a Middle and South Caucus (a caucus is a political meeting) each which was tied together and coordinated. Sam Adams belong to all three for instance, and all were run for and with the wishes for and with the Whig Party. Whether or not they carried out decisions and elections to favor the obvious majority is not important, the important thing was Revolutionary treason was done there and around. The Tories had no such organization known and apparently had no central leadership.

The most organized and largest semi-secret group within Boston that we are aware of would be the Sons of Liberty. They were run by some kind of secret organization likely conducted at any of the above locations, and they established proper mob rule within Boston. Their activities were anything from innocently disturbing citizens in their sleep with musical instruments, tearing down houses and drinking up wine cellars, organized a large part of the Tea Party up Griffin's Wharf, and other mob behavior. "It was they who frightened customs commissioners out of town, bullied and threatened 'importers', who tarred and feathered 'informers', who paralyzed all government but their own." (wonder if the NRA would be like this?)

Paul Revere was at least known to associate with the SoL, and their activities of frighting Tories and mob activity scared lots. If they did not take well to an informer to the British, a couple of things could happen -- anywhere from smashing a window, sticking a horridly disfigured and disguised face through the window and demeaning the inhabitants to ripping down mansions (like Thomas Hutchinson's, but they denied involvement), or if they did not like what was being dealt with down at the docks (smuggling was very common, difficult to clamp down upon and encouraged within Boston) they would mob up at the wharf and shout threats and warnings, but usually no grave physical harm was done, and no lives were taken (reportedly) by the SoL. An observer wrote back to England that they were "a trained mob."

"Like the Masons, the Sons recognized each other by a secret language and wore medals. This medal, suspended about the neck, had one side an arm grasping a pole on top of which was the liberty cap and the words 'Sons of Liberty'. On the reverse, the Liberty Tree. They had no special dress, like the Masonic apron, but wore cockades and (in honor of Wilkes in London) such insignia as '45' on their hats. When on public display they kept military formations and once a year sat down together to enormous feasts [probably funded by "King" Hancock] celebrating their 'march on Rome' -- the fourteenth of August."

A list apparently has been compiled, probably by a Tory for the English, and curiously names some following SoL members (of which 62 were known leaders), of which most are not favorable. "John Hancock: a merchant, orator, milchcow to the Faction but whether public spirit or vanity has been his governing spirit is uncertain. [...] Newman Greenough: Sailmaker, whose house was built by unrighteousness. Moses Gill: brazier, a great Puritan, but without religion. Thomas Boylston: Publican, keeper of a gaming house, very tyrannical & oppressive." Some are favorable towards them, like "Paul Revere: Silversmith, Ambassador from the Committee of Correspondence of Boston to the Congress at Philadelphia. Oliver Wendell: Oilman, a very worthy man." Others are more blatant like Benjamin Waldo, "a surly humdrum Son of Liberty." Or take that of which "crime" is so bad that the name is omitted: "---- ----- is a mariner mean-spirited, swearing and silly, very amorous with the kitchen furniture". And finally, that of which is torn off: " ---- ----- Alias Joyce Jr. chairman of the the Committee for Tarring and feathering, who is now strolling the West Indies." Sounds like the person who compiled the list knows who Joyce Junior's real name was.

The Liberty Tree was a giant tree that was planted some 120-odd years before 1765, a very hard year upon Boston. An elm tree of giant proportions with plenty of room for large groups like mobs and the SoL to gather under and talk treason and other tall talk. With Boston being a particulary riotous town (more on this later) it was a well known meeting point, with messages and orations being delivered upon it, and its fame grew far amongst the Colonies with other trees named likewise, even with it being mentioned in England. It was eventually hewn down for wood during the British occupation of Boston during 1775, which even the town bull's venerable twenty years could not save him.
                                                                                                                                                   

Next time: Boston Massacre.

Woe hoe hoe -- it's been awhile. Let's get right to work: one of the probably most misunderstood events of the American History, alongside that of a mythical hero on a white horse galloping from house to house...

                                                                                                                                                   


This is the story that is popularly circulated as the premier presentation of the incident of that time:


http://www.lifeintheninth.com/?cat=1

It is a colorized engraving by Paul Revere. It shows Red coats firing in a coordinated fashion urged on by the commander of the day, Captain Preston.

Of course, that's what really happened?

........No. Read on.

This is very likely more illustrative of what really happened. A Google Image search can show more, but the one you do not want to be looking for is the one that you see above.


http://www.paulauger.com/


There were two reasons the Boston Massacre as it was known and is known, started. Let's start with the proper one, which Wikipedia differs from.

March 5th, 1770. Throughout their tenure in the Colonies, British soldiers were well neglected. Pay was dismal or non-existent in some cases. Poor supplies, housing, disaffection for the Crown and duty led to all sorts ailments -- desertions (rewarded with hanging in event of recapture), squabbles and such were not unknown. It was a good henhouse for revolution action from the Whig foxes.

The British soldiers tolerated a remarkable amount of abuse. Threats were commonplace. Occasionally peppered with oyster shells or other objects, or sometimes "accidentally" pushed off wharfs and ledges. On this day "there had been an increasing number of threats, the town boys boasting they were going to clean up the 'bloody-backs', the soldiers swearing they would teach the 'cowardly rascals' respect for His Majesty's uniform. The fifth of March was a Monday. The previous Friday an unusually large number of pates [Arc note: "pates" being defined as "brains" or "heads"] had been broken at Gray's ropewalks, on Hutchinson Street."

The Twenty-Ninth Regiment was known for ill manners and troublemaking. One such hot headed fellow was private who took to the streets to seek a side cash to help him through his tenure, which was not uncommon at all. Sam Gray, a shop worker but not the owner, asked him if he wanted work. The soldier replied that he did. "But the work offered him (in pure Anglo-Saxon) started a fist fight between them." The soldier, defeated, ran to his barracks for reinforcements, which naturally was equalized by more and more workmen and more and more soldiers, and rose to quite a spectacle, apparently to the approximate size of that of a Pope's Day frolic. Eventually the citizens and officers terminated the battle and the soldiers were forced back into their barracks, nursing wounds and counting injuries, naturally swearing vengeance. One can easily reckon as to where this might be going towards. The officers, not looking well upon their men taken a beating by sticks and pots of the "boys", promised to keep their men in order, but both sides carefully scouted opportunities to continue the interrupted conflict and revenge was rife.

Here we take upon a critical turn. See, in 1770 with hard times upon Boston, the Whig Party had lost a bit of influence. A bit of sparkle, as if the flame burner had been turned down a bit. Naturally that was not appealing well to the radical revolutionaries like Samuel Adams. The Whig leaders were aim to boot the only two regiments left in Boston (the rest had fled in a mixture of terror, hate and revenge) out, thus civil government could be restored. Now the matter is then, to influence mass public opinion such that there will be no choice but to force a withdrawal. One particular way to do this is goad the soldiers into firing on the "innocent" inhabitants. A small number of martyrs never hurt any political party or cause, so then the cause for the Whigs would be further advanced and opinion nudged more on the side of the Whigs. (Remember, approximately 1/3 Loyalist, 1/3 Patriot, 1/3 undecided; fairly rough numbers but gives a reasonable idea of the scale of the division)

Two regiments left in Boston, the Fourteenth and the Twenty-Ninth. By dusk the pot was warming fast, with the usual Redcoats "driving the streets" in small packs. Naturally with the recent squabble there were the Redcoats pushing civilians out of their way who took every effort to interrupt their path and curses from one side to another were plentiful. "The regulars were are their worst, and what John Adams calls the 'lower classes' (Cousin Sam had more endearing terms for them) were out in full force. But by eight o'clock that night the air was so charged with dynamite that any flash-in-the-pan would blow the whole town sky high."

Captain Goldfinch, of the Fourteenth Regiment was happened to be nearby when around 20:00hrs (8 o'clock) a young boy was knocked down and bawling that he was killed. A crowd gathered and returning soldiers found their way back to their barracks blocked in the narrow streets which was very typical in Boston at the time, some of which were so narrow a standard cart would barely fit, with the pedestrians forced to temporarily inside a house or side alley to make room. Ensign Mall who was in charge of them, lost his head and bade his men to fix bayonets to make a path for themselves, but was scolded by Captain Goldfinch and instead got them inside the sugar house, by which time a good number of blows had been exchanged and the whole situation was grim. The Captain tried slip out to see what was afoot over to King Street where the main guard was housed, but was harassed by a young child cursing him for not paying his bills (following the fashionable habit of 18th century "gentlemen" skipping payment to tradesmen, in the Captain's case a barber for shaving him), which was too much for a solidary sentry named Montgomery.

Montgomery had "been enduring more than the usual amount of snowballs, chunks of ice, oyster shells sea-coal, and provincial wit which was the fate of solitary sentries. For some time he had been muttering and cursing and saying what he'd do if any came within reach of his bayonet", about of what a large crowd had gathered around him, but no blows had been exchanged except the usual shower of missiles and adjectives.  At this time he left his place and demanded the saucy boy to show himself, Montgomery then hit him with a glancing blow that didn't even knock him down. "Instantly the crowd rushed him, yelling that the blood-thirsty butcher was murdering the child." Simultaneously, a third crowd had been listening to an oration by a "tall gentleman" whose identity is not precisely known (and everybody know one another in Boston), but at the end of the speech a cry went up, "To the Main Guard!" and the threats went out and about to kill any "lobster backs" they could find, at which time all three separate crowds (sugar house and Captain Goldfinch, Montgomery, and now the sailors, portmen and other street fighters that were previously listening to the oration) joined together at Montgomery's area, just in front of the Old State House, milling about in the foot-deep snow and moon-lit darkness.

Just about nine o'clock (21:00) the bells of the Old Meeting house toiled as for a fire. Windows and doors flew open all over Boston, with crys of "Where is the fire?;" "The regulars are cutting and slashing everyone;" "They are cutting down the Liberty Tree;" "The regulars are massacring the people." Now in Boston most buildings were constructed of wood and any fire-alarm bell that toiled was met with a torrent of fire-buckets. So in the mettle of confusion, peltings, insults and mob mess Montogomery was hard-pressed with a hot headed crowd shouting the usual "lobster back", "bloody back" and "kill him, kill him." Panting, he fired back with "If you come near me, I'll blow your brains out" which was responded with "Fire and be damned", at which time Montgomery loaded.

Crispus Attucks was a mulatto, part Indian, part black, and part white, towering well over six feet tall. His master in Framingham thought highly of him, aged forty-seven at the time. With a crowd of sailors at his heels and a club in hand, he poked at Montogomery and said he'd "like to have one of his claws." Mongtomery then yelled out "Turn out the Main Guard" at which a corporal's guard and Captain Preston exited the main guard house and struggled to cross the mobbed King Street to join the semi-circle of bayonets presented to the milling mob. Seven regulars and Captain Preston himself for a total of nine regulars made for an unconvincing presentation of the King's power. "Someone yelled at Preston to keep his men in order and mind what he was about. The Captain did not answer, but ordered the soldiers to prime and load. The silence at the moment was so complete everyone heard the rattle of the iron ramrods. Preston put his body between the men and the crowd to keep them from firing." Henry Knox, a bookseller who studied the military manuals convient in his store (and helped out with the removal of cannon from up North over extremely difficult terrain to remove the British from Boston later on) begged Preston to keep his men in order and take them back, for if his men fired his life must answer for it. Preston replied that he was "sensible to it."

The rumor then spread that the guns were not loaded, but the Captain replied when asked "with powder and ball." "Do you mean to fire upon the inhabitants?" "By no means," but Knox noted that Preston seemed agitated when he replied. There then went upon people (Captain Goldfinch, and among others) that entreated the crowd to return home, but instead the crowd rushed the soldiers so thick a hat could not be passed between them. Crispus was still muttering about the "claws" he was going to get off the "lobsters" when the crowd rushed the semi circle of nine leveled bayonets, then hitting at Preston which grazed him and knocked down Montogomery. A short squabble for control of the musket and Montgomery regained it, shortly thereafter a cry went out, "Present..." and as the melee that went on, "...Fire." Witnesses nearby Preston at the time agreed with him and said he did not give the fatal order. Nobody really knows who gave the order.

Let's take a look at this picture again:


http://www.paulauger.com/


We see Captain Preston in front of his men urging a stop to the firing, Crispus Attucks pushing up a soldier's musket and with a raised club in hand, and a few other key points. It also gives a good idea of the real length of a musket with bayonet fixed, makes our select fire magazine fed carbines with copper-clad, lead core cannalured, annealed brass cased centerfire percussion Boxer primed, sealed ball powered 5.56x45 cartridges of today. But why the popular image first presented by Paul Revere? Read on.

Crispus Attucks was probably the first to go down, struck with one ball from Montogomery and another from another soldier in the chest. Kilroy took aim at Sam Gray. James Caldwell also died at the scene. Sam Maverick died a few hours later with Patrick Carr out a few days later. The crowd recoiling, slipping in the snow and over lost overcoats and hats, fled. Captain Preston was once again in front of his men pushing up their guns, preventing a second volley. The drums of the British over the town all beat to arms, most not in dress order regardless. Lieutenant Governor Hutchinson was greatly incensed, loathed at the "stupid brutality of the regulars and the wilful fecklessness of the inhabitants." Speaking from the balcony of the Old State house, he swore of justice that should be done, and convinced the mob to go home and the soldiers to their barracks. Captain Preston and his eight men were under arrest for murder before sunrise, and before long their trial was under way. The problem was no lawyer could be found to defend them and any jury in Boston would have convicted them immediately. Through the efforts of Mr. Forestor, he found John Adams, amazingly enough, since it appeared that Preston had no friends in town except his fellow redcoats, and at first Judge Auchmuty would not even touch the case.

Patrick Carr was shot through the abdomen, but refused to lay the blame upon the soldiers. He reasoned that they had fired in self-defence from the presence of the mob behavior and were quite well abused. "In Ireland he had seen mobs  and soldiers called out to quell them, but 'he had never in his life seen them bear half so much before they fired.' And he had malice towards no one." He contributed well to the defense of the soldiers and Captain Preston, of which three were branded for manslaughter (the charge of murder was reduced on upon light them being soldiers, with Captain Preston exonerated).

Paul Revere whereabouts are not precisely known at the time of the "Massacre", however at the time of the trial he presented an accurate depiction of the event, of where the soldiers were and where the dead fell, which suggests he may have been there. He then went to work on the drawing of which we commonly see, which was done for precisely one reason: Propaganda. The drawing of the event was to be sold on the street, but was also packed into "The Short Narrative", which was a collection of affidavits and other papers hurridly sent to England to influence public opinion before the officers and officials of the Colonies could get their version in. Accuracy was not important, image was, and is thus illustrated by Attucks being white, not black; Captain Preston urging on his men with an evil grin; the shooting is a volley, not every man for himself; the snow is nonexistent. But print was for image to promote the Whig cause, and it did well to execute such; the sign over the Custom House reads "Butcher's Hall". And that is all that mattered then, because clever work by Sam Adams got the remaining two regiments out of Boston which numbered only six hundred-odd men, which was not enough to quell the temper of a violent Boston tendency. Oaths of vengeance, anniversary orations and processions in remembrance of the event, demonstrating its significance.

There is conflict as to whether that print was plagiarized by Paul Revere from one Harry Pelham, who sent a letter accusing Revere of theft of the print. Pelham's print was dated March of 1770 by that of the Edes and Gill press for five hundred and seventy-five prints, which cost him three pounds nine shillings. It is quite likely that the print was plagiarized from Pelham and sold by Revere.

The same day Parliament voted to strike down the Townshend Acts, except for a small tax on tea. Just a tax on tea, that is all, and we can reason what this lead to next: the Boston Tea Party.


                                                                                                                                                   

Next up: Boston Tea Party. By the way, it takes about six hours to type one of these things up...

Right to work. This book is at the college library, and the past two months haven't received anything because the campus was closed.

Boston Tea Party.

                                                                                                                                                   

By this time, in 1773, Governor Hutchinson wrote, the "union between the colonies, is pretty well broke. I hope never to see it renewed." Perhaps, being a Tory, he did not know the condition of the Whig Party. But he did have a modest idea.

The Whig party was at its darkest times. Sam Adams, a ferverent radical and tireless speaker with words ready to demonize the opposition at the drop of the hat with the harshest words, clutching at every possible straw that could be interpreted as tyranny. Now nobody listened to him. John Hancock was thought to have joined the Tories. Hutchinson, watching the dissension among them, was not alone. England also noted a certain curious vacancy, of unnatural calm.

So. The British Government in '73 quite worried about the impending collapse of the East India Company than about its colonies. Being a large and powerful corporation, with some seven years of stockpiled tea along the Thames River running through London, it was ironic of its financial status -- nearing bankruptcy, which was not much of a worry if it was not for their large enterprise in trading of materials. So it was decided that the company be maintained, if more or less a delay of inevitable collapse (a hundred years later it was absorbed into the Government because of debts), by allowing it a monopoly on American tea. So the route from the tea sources would skip London and aim directly for the American Colonies, and the tab would be the only thing left. Remember of Boston's importance as a major harbor for the Colonies.

Just a monopoly on tea, however, led to fears of even more monopolies. What about wine? Cloth? Paper? Shoes? Shopkeepers would get slashed too, because the Government "had appointed 'consignees' for the tea. These men only would sell it to the people. The consignees would make all the profits."

So the Tea Act of 1773 woke up the Whig Party and re-established the spirit in a feverity that the Party could not. "The thirteen colonies were ready to forget and forgive old quarrels among themselves. In Boston the situation was further aggravated by the hoggishness of the Hutchinson clique in getting themselves appointed consignees of the expected tea. Young Thomas and Elisha, the Governor's sons, were among them. Of course this drove other merchants like John Hancock, William Molineaux, and John Rowe into a frenzy. The choice of Boston consignees was one of the Tories' crassest blunders.

"By November, when the teas ships were hourly expected [Arc note: Enterprising fornicators waited on the rooftops with news of impending ships] the town was in a ferment. The Sons of Liberty were back in full stride, and once again 'Joyce Jr.' raised his threatening voice, for although Castle Island was full of redcoats under Colonel Leslie, and the harbor was full of Admiral Montague's ships-of-war, there was no power in Boston to check them."

But there remained those consignees, whose names pinned to the Liberty Tree, demanding of their resignation like that of the Stamp Act collectors not long ago, instead remained steadfast, except the southern colonies. Their courage despite the frighting presence of the SoL is not without mention, but eventually they were forced out of the town. Being the Liberty Tree located at the large area of the intersection of Orange St, which ran straight through the town gates at the Neck and Frog Lane, not far from the South End. The South End being known well for ill manners probably explains part of puzzle.

The first tea ship to arrive in town was the Dartmouth. Right the next morning this note was posted:

"Friends! Brethren! Countrymen! That worst of Plagues, the detested tea shipped for this port by the East India Company, is now arrived in the Harbour; the hour of destruction, or manly opposition to the machanitions* of Tyranny, stares you in the Face; every Friend to his country, to Himself, and to Posterity is now called upon to meet at Faneuil Hall, at nine o'clock this day, at which time the bells will ring to make united and successful resistance to this last, worst and most destructive measure of Administration. Boston. Nov. 29, 1773"
So this meeting, which had no legal authority other than that of assumed, ordered that the Dartmouth be tied up at the Griffin's Wharf, which is about half a kilometer from the South Battery, facing directly east towards the incoming ships. "The Body" as the meetings were sometimes called, met again at morning the next day, and the other seaports should be warned should the other teaships attempt to unload. Five men and Paul Revere were chosen to ride express, which is the first known record of Revere's "express" ride. There might have been some similar rides before, but this one is the first recorded ride of his, express riders being the chosen couriers of news and letters of sensitive nature -- a rider on a fast and sturdy New England breed horse, since oxen were used as draft animals, there were no or very few draft horses in America. No record of which towns were informed of the identity of the other five riders has been revealed.

Later on, the Beaver and the Eleanor, joined the Dartmouth at Griffin's Wharf. Combined value was eighteen thousand pounds (£) of tea, that is a total of three hundred and forty two chests. The meetings by then grew considerably in size, such that the Faneuil Hall was not sufficient. Women, school children, Sam Adams' henchmen and everybody else attended. Voting was by ayes and nays, any man's vote being as good as the next, but most of the cooler headed Tories and Whigs stayed home. Now Sam Adams revered in these lawless throngs and it was they, not the authorized town officials who decided the ships must return to England.

Now. In Massachusetts, it was illegal to depart from harbor once tied in without disembarking the cargo. And it was further illegal to remain at port for longer than twenty days, lest the ship and cargo be liable to seizure. By then, the Dartmouth had been in for eighteen days. Tension was high, and despite the Admirals ships of war in the harbor, the Governor stayed out in Milton. Orders had been given to Colonel Leslie on Castle Island to open fire on the ships should they depart from dock, and the Governor refused to settle the matter by allowing the ships to return, albeit illegally, to England with the cargo.

So seven-thousand-plus gathered in Old South or around it. It was the 16th of December, a cold and rainy day, but the crowd was kept amused by "wild, inflammatory, big-mouthed, eloquent speeches." How much time it would take was not immediantly known, because it was 22 kilometers (14mi) round-trip to Milton, and Mr. Rotch, the owner of the Dartmouth was imploring of the Governor to allow his ship to depart. The Governor refused. Around 18:00 hours the news was in, and Sam Adams in a defeatish tone, said that "this meeting can do nothing more to save the country."

Right away cries of "To Griffin Wharf!" and "Boston harbour a tea-pot tonight!" and the crowd was out, and the last thing George Robert Twelvetrees Hewes recalls was "Let every man do what is right in his own eyes!" And the blacked faces and Mohawk disguises were out. Many other uninvited "guests" joined the regular invitees and behaved themselves.


Click image for full size version

Two groups, the North Caucus and Saint Andrew's Lodge, were known to have hand in organizing the shebang.  The Masons met, but the records reads "Lodge adjourned on account of few Brothers present. N.B. Consignees of Tea took the Brethren's time" on the day the ships arrived. On the day of the "Party", it says "Lodge closed on account of few members present." At the Green Dragon it is suspected plans got ironed out there by a meeting of the secret clubs. It was decided, that young men must conduct the exercise and must be not too well known in town lest their identities be exposed and they face trial for destruction of property. With Lendall Pitts, the son of a wealthy merchant, was there as commander in chief, and recklessly made no effort to disguise himself.

The men were to wear "ragged clothes and disfigure oursevles...smeared our faces with grease and soot or lampblack...and we surely resembled devils from the bottomless pit rather than men." As the lot of rascals assembled near the wharf they split into three groups, one for each ship. As the dumping began the masses remained silent but with approval. The entire three hundred and forty two chests were emptied by dawn the next day, each member working hard, those of who attempted to siphon some for personal use were dealt with swiftly.

Then, they quietly marched back to the State House, stunned at the lack of opposition, for the Admiral's ships stood less than 1500 meters away. The issue was the Admiral was spending the night with a Tory friend and watched the event silently until they marched by his window, then flipped up the window and craned out saying:

"Well, boys, you have had a fine, pleasant evening for your Indian caper--haven't you? But mind, you have got to pay the fiddler yet."

Lendall Pitts shouted back, "Oh never mind, never mind, Squire, just come out here, if you please, and we'll settle the bill in two minutes." The Admiral snapped back down the window.

The unfortunate who did not attend the "party" had met a sight when the "guests" returned home in disfigured forms. Betsy Hunt Palmer, Paul Revere's wife at the time, was rocking the baby when her husband returned home and was terrified with three husky Indian figures. But Revere calmed her with "Don't be frightened, Betsy, it is I. We have only been making a little salt water tea."

When it was all said and done, because it was done at low tide, and the tide rose back up, there was a mess of tea all the way to Dorchester. We could could consider it another one of our "strikes of the match", it's that important to our history.

                                                                                                                                                   

Not sure what is next time, but I'll find something.